The card barely survived a bunch of main event changes and an attack on a bus by Conor McGregor that caused three fights to be cancelled.

The main event saw Khabib Nurmagomedov win the UFC’s lightweight title, but it also had Al Iaquinta showing off his own survival skills and going a full five rounds despite accepting the fight on only one day’s notice.

Even UFC president Dana White admitted his brain was scrambled and he was running on fumes when he spoke at his post-fight media availability early Sunday morning. For all his faults, it was hard to blame him.

The past week has been a difficult one for the UFC, but the company did set the Barclays Center gate record with Saturday’s fight card, so at least it ended on a positive note.

Here’s five takeways from this week:

1. BEST IN THE WORLD

There’s an argument to be made that Tony Ferguson is the best lightweight fighter in the UFC, but that can wait for another day.

With a 26-0 record and the 155 lbs. belt now strapped around his waist, Nurmagomedov has done more than enough to be considered the cream of the lightweight crop.

His victory over Iaquinta wasn’t the most impressive of his career – and the way he leaves his chin out while striking could be exploited by other elite guys – but it was still dominant. It’s only unimpressive in the context of how Nurmagomedov normally destroys people.

Given the fact that he the last week saw him scheduled to fight Ferguson, featherweight champion Max Holloway and possibly Anthony Pettis and Paul Felder, it’s sort of understandable if he wasn’t at his absolute best.

After 18 months where the champion, McGregor, never once fought in an MMA cage, it’s refreshing that the UFC finally has a champion in the deep lightweight division who may actually defend his belt.

2. CAN THEY DO IT?

Given that several fighters and UFC staff got injured when McGregor threw a metal dolly through a bus window on Thursday afternoon, it would seem somewhat unsavoury to profit off his antics by booking him against Nurmagomedov – the target of his attack.

When the legal ramifications of the Irishman’s idiocy are dealt with, though, it’s hard to imagine that the UFC will be able to turn down a fight that’s going to generate massive revenue.

Images of McGregor’s attack were broadcast around the world, and that’s going to get the hype turned all the way up.

There’s going to be a balance that needs to be struck, because the UFC doesn’t want to be seen to be profiting on the pain of their employees, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’ll be seeing McGregor and Nurmagomedov face off before the year is through.

Somehow, though, the rematch was even more impressive than the first-round TKO she secured last November.

Namajunas outlasted one of the best strikers in the women’s game over five rounds and overcame a serious momentum shift in the third round.

She’s the real deal.

The future likely holds fights against Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and neither are easy.

Suddenly, though, the women’s strawweight division has become one of the more fascinating weight classes in the entire UFC.

4. HE’S HERE

Olivier Aubin-Mercier just made the leap.

The Montrealer was the only Canadian on Saturday night’s card, but he had arguably the most impressive finish of anyone who competed.

He’s finally arrived.

Aubin-Mercier has been one of Canada’s top prospects for a few years now, but being a prospect is different from being a legitimate top 15 fighter.

On Saturday, Aubin-Mercier proved that he’s there by demolishing Evan Dunham in less than a minute.

He’s officially the Canadian to watch. Give him another opponent in the top of the rankings now.

5. THAT WAS BAD

If you only tuned into UFC 223 for the actual fight card was Saturday, you probably walked away feeling OK with everything.

If you paid attention to the whole week, it sucked.

The McGregor incident is what this week will be remembered for. That’s fair. When the biggest star in the sport gets arrested for throwing a piece of metal through the window of a bus full of athletes, that’s going to dominate the headlines.

Losing a bunch of fighters for the main event is brutal, and the UFC deserves credit for making the best of a bad situation.

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